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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23287729">You Made A Man Out of Me</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentStovring/pseuds/AgentStovring'>AgentStovring</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Smosh</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anal Sex, Best Friends, Blow Jobs, First Time, First Time Blow Jobs, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Hand Jobs, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:46:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,996</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23287729</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentStovring/pseuds/AgentStovring</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Shayne has feelings for Damien, and no matter how hard he tried to shove those feelings down, they keep coming back.<br/>It doesn't exactly help that they spend every waking moment together, but what's the alternative?<br/>Shayne struggles on. Something's got to give.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Damien Haas/Shayne Topp</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>264</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Smoshblr List Creations</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. You're My Favorite</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s tempting to think of certain relationships as static, and some people as reliable constants. When you’ve known someone long enough, you think you know what to expect – if not from them, then at least from yourself.</p><p>Shayne had known Damien for ages; they were best friends; he wouldn’t change anything about their relationship. Except... Over the course of the last year, Shayne had become painfully aware of a shift in his interactions with his best friend. </p><p>When they first met, nearly a decade ago, he’d thought Damien was decent-looking; he had a good face for TV, the kind that the young audience of ‘So Random!’ appreciated. Over time, Shayne found himself looking at Damien with a renewed appreciation; their long hours of working together planted the seed to a budding crush. </p><p>Of course, Young Shayne would never have made a move; he was still coming to terms with sometimes being attracted to guys. So, eventually, the butterflies in his stomach settled down and his feelings became manageable. He chalked his crush up to teenage hormones, and Damien became his best friend.</p><p>As they’d gotten older, Damien’s boyish good looks had morphed into a decided handsomeness. Slightly Older Shayne knew a lot more about himself; he didn’t care much for labels, but he knew what he liked, and he was out to everyone he trusted, including his best friend, of course.<br/>
He still had complicated feelings for Damien – especially during the time they lived together – though, again, those feelings were manageable. He was more mature, more in control of himself than he’d been when they first met.</p><p>But then he recommended Damien for a job at Smosh. And Damien got it, because of course he did - who wouldn’t want Damien on their team?</p><p>They still hung out in their free time, on a near-daily basis; but now they also saw each other at work. Shayne was running out of waking hours he spent away from Damien; and the problem was, he didn’t mind it. He had feared somehow getting tired of Damien’s company. What a fool he’d been.</p><p>//</p><p>Shayne cared deeply about his coworkers; he didn’t even think of them as coworkers really, just friends that he was lucky enough to work with. Still, as much as he loved everyone, at some point or another he’d been in a fight with nearly all of them.<br/>
Their shooting days always turned into all day affairs, and normal work hours were a pleasant surprise rather than an expectation. The occasional fights were to be expected; being tired, hungry, bored, and surrounded by over a dozen other people who felt the same way was a recipe for petty arguments.<br/>
Even he and Damien had had a few rows here and there; never anything serious, just cranky, childish disagreements. Shayne had noticed that he had a disturbing tendency to bother Damien unnecessarily on long shoot days, on purpose; perhaps because fighting was easier than pining.<br/>
Of course Damien was tough to pick a fight with; he could be temperamental, but he hid it well, and he almost never took it out on his loved ones. So whenever Shayne started poking at him, either verbally or literally, Damien simply laughed it off.</p><p>On another long shoot day, on an afternoon like many others, Shayne was nearing his breaking point.<br/>
They were shooting an ‘Every Blank Ever’ video – Every Office Ever – and they had reached the inevitable late afternoon slump.<br/>
It was about to be dinner time, and they would have to agree to either keep working and getting dinner after; or breaking for dinner and keep working after.<br/>
Usually everyone wanted to keep working and be done sooner; but that also meant that certain people started getting agitated from hunger.</p><p>It was Shayne.<br/>
Shayne got agitated from hunger.</p><p>He was sitting slumped down on a couch, absentmindedly patting his stomach, trying not to think about inhaling a pile of In’n’Out burgers. Matt Raub was directing crew members to set up another shot, and Monica was actively rewriting a bit that didn’t work off the page. Normally Shayne would write with her, but she had taken one look at his exhausted face and walked away from him.<br/>
It would be a while before anyone could leave. Shayne’s stomach growled and he let out a sigh.<br/>
The others had all voted on working through dinner, unanimously, so he hadn’t spoken up and said he’d prefer not to. He didn’t want to be the problem child, having a hissy fit over delaying a meal. </p><p>There were usually snacks on set, but at that time of day, only sad, stale leftovers remained.<br/>
Shayne sunk lower into the couch, closing his eyes.</p><p>Minutes later, he felt the couch shift and looked up to see Damien sitting next to him. Damien smiled and daintily placed a protein bar on Shayne’s stomach. Shayne stared at it, wondering briefly if his hunger had produced a mirage; but when he closed his fingers around it, it was real. He made a sound that sounded embarrassingly like a moan.</p><p>“You got me a protein bar?” He said as he quickly unwrapped it. “Could you tell I was dying from hunger?”</p><p>He took a huge bite, making another obscene moaning sound. Damien chuckled.</p><p>“I’ve known you long enough to remember your feeding schedule. Those big muscles make for a crazy fast metabolism.”</p><p>He squeezed one of Shayne’s biceps and made a honking sound. Then he pulled out his Switch and loaded up a game, turning the screen ever so slightly so Shayne could follow along.<br/>
But Shayne was watching his face.<br/>
The Switch played a sad jingle.</p><p>“You’re supposed to jump before they slam into you.” Shayne said, still not looking at the screen.</p><p>“Eat your protein bar.”</p><p>It was a good 15 minutes before they were called back in front of the camera.<br/>
Damien stretched, his back arching slightly off the couch, and he made a low groaning noise that made Shayne want to hear more. He could feel his face turning slightly red.<br/>
<i>I’m a bad friend. I’m a bad friend. I’m a bad friend.</i></p><p>When they eventually finished shooting, some people went home, while a small group headed to a nearby Himalayan restaurant for a late dinner. Shayne sat a few seats down from Damien, pretending it wasn’t intentional; Damien threw his hands up, outraged.<br/>
“Dude! We have to sit next to each other; how else can I eat your last momo?”</p><p>“How about you not eat my last momo?” Shayne suggested, trying not to smile. Damien wasn’t impressed.</p><p>“You never finish it.”</p><p>“I want the option.”</p><p>Damien pretended to be deeply insulted by this, but everyone were hungry and tired, so all pretense soon dissolved and a comfortable silence took over, occasionally punctuated by low conversation. When Damien finished his own meal, Shayne finally picked up the plate holding the last potato momo. He passed it to Olivia who passed it to Courtney, who then handed it to Damien.</p><p>Damien whooped and immediately devoured his prize, beaming happily at Shayne. Shayne rolled his eyes and smiled back. Damien made a point of telling the whole table that he’d been right, that Shayne never ate his last momo.</p><p>Shayne just nodded in feigned defeat. He didn’t correct Damien; didn’t mention that he could easily finish a plate of momos, and just chose to leave one for Damien every time.</p><p>//</p><p>They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, but they forget to mention that being around someone all the time also does things to your heart. Shayne was no dummy; he knew that hanging out with Damien damn near every day wasn’t going to rid him of his crush. He felt that it was safer to see his best friend a little less until his feelings subsided; or at least spend less time alone with him.<br/>
Who wouldn’t fall in love with Damien, sitting shoulder to shoulder with him playing video games? Close enough to take in his pleasant, familiar scent; close enough to feel the warmth coming from him; the softness of his skin when their arms brushed.<br/>
So, Shayne did the emotional work, for the sake of their friendship. When Damien asked him to hang out, just the two of them, Shayne pretended to have other plans. A few times he said yes, then cancelled; and when making new plans to make up for it, made sure to include other people.<br/>
Sometimes a person can be very smart and emotionally mature, but still make dumbass decisions like distancing themselves from their best friend in a really misguided attempt to reestablish normalcy.<br/>
Even if they have a psychology degree. </p><p>He managed to avoid alone time with Damien for 1½ weeks, making himself feel so stressed out that he eventually threw up at work.<br/>
He made it to the bathroom, thankfully, but Ian saw him rushing in there and following him. In his usual nonchalant Ian-fashion, he simply walked in through the bathroom door that Shane hadn’t had time to close behind him. He unceremoniously leaned against the sink next to the toilet while Shayne dry-heaved.</p><p>“Shayne, I’ve been pondering something.”</p><p>Shayne glanced slightly up from the toilet bowl, too defeated to glare at Ian as hard as he meant to. Ian continued, undeterred.</p><p>“Don’t you think hurting Damien’s feelings by avoiding him is maybe worse than,“ He made exaggerated air quotes. “What, “risking your friendship” by having feelings for him?”</p><p>“No offense, but you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Shayne groaned, slowly getting back on his feet.</p><p>Ian shook his head.<br/>
“Maybe I don’t, but I know this isn’t the way to handle it. Please spend time with your best friend, and maybe give him some credit. If anyone knows how to deal with something like this, it’s him; he’s got emotional maturity coming out the wazoo.”<br/>
With that he gave Shayne a pat on the back, leaving the bathroom. In the hallway outside, Shayne could hear him talking to Courtney.</p><p>“Is Shayne puking?!”</p><p>“Yeah, we need to find a new sandwich place.”</p><p>“Oh, it’s the food? I thought he was lovesick.”</p><p>Their voices grew fainter as they walked away. </p><p>//<br/>
The next day, Damien was sitting alone, typing on his laptop, when Shayne entered the room. He didn’t look up, but Shayne could tell he felt his presence. He sat down across the table from him, looking at his own hands. After a few long minutes, Damien finally acknowledged him.</p><p>“What’s up?” It sounded more like a statement than a question. He looked tired. Shayne’s stomach started to hurt and he felt a lump growing in his throat, making it harder to get out the words.</p><p>“I’m sorry I’ve been such a dick lately.”</p><p>Damien swallowed hard, nodding, still not looking up.</p><p>“I thought I was being paranoid at first.” Damien said. “You know I get anxious; I overanalyze, I start thinking people don’t like me. After days of fighting that idea, imagine how I felt when I realized you really were avoiding me.”</p><p>His tone was so casual, dull even. There was no expression on his face, and it felt worse than if he’d been yelling and screaming. The lump in Shayne’s throat grew bigger, and his eyes were burning. He could feel his hands shaking; he made fists in an attempt to make them stop. </p><p>“Damien, I-“ </p><p>His voice betrayed him, warning that he was close to tears.<br/>
“I wanna hang out with you all the time; there’s no one I’d rather spend time with. These past weeks have been some of the worst of my life. I was trying to not... like you so much.”</p><p>Damien gave up on his neutral demeanor, expression now concerned, and he pushed the laptop aside. He reached across the table to grasp one of Shayne’s shaking fists.<br/>
“Shayne, what are you talking about?”</p><p>Shayne shivered. A single tear escaped his eye and caught on his lashes. He looked at Damien’s hand on his own and took a few calming breaths.<br/>
“Lately I’ve been- I’ve been feeling things.”</p><p>“What kind of things?”</p><p>“… Non-platonic things.”</p><p>Damien frowned, and then seemed to have a moment of realization. He smiled slightly, squeezing Shayne’s hand.</p><p>“You’ve been feeling non-platonic things, for me?”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“Are we talking non-platonic as in, like, sexual? Or as in, you wanna make an honest man out of me?”</p><p>“It’s a mix of both, really.” Shayne mumbled, avoiding eye contact. </p><p>Damien let go of his hand and Shayne’s heart sunk. But then Damien got up and went to his side of the table; he gently took Shayne by the arm, pulling him to his feet and guiding him to sit down on the couch in the other end of the room.<br/>
Shayne mentally noted that this put them out of sight from passersby. Damien sat down next to him, their bodies turned towards each other. </p><p>“Shayne, you know we’re best friends, right?”</p><p>“Yeah.” Shayne felt, if possible, even worse about his confession.</p><p>“And you know how I tell you I love you, and I kind of touch you all the time, and how there’s no one I enjoy spending time with more than you?”</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“And you know how... you’re a big dumbass?”</p><p>“Ye- What?”</p><p>“Do basic math, genius.”</p><p>Shayne looked so bewildered that Damien couldn’t help but chuckle. He decided to simply wait for Shayne to Beautiful Mind the situation. It took a few seconds, and then Shayne’s confused expression was transformed by a stupid grin.</p><p>“You like me.”</p><p>“Shayne, you basically just told me that you wanna put a ring on it.”</p><p>“Yeah, but you like me, too.”</p><p>Damien rolled his eyes, smiling. Shayne tentatively put his hand on Damien’s elbow, pulling him a little. Their knees knocked together as they maneuvered their legs into a better position, allowing their faces to get closer. Damien’s hands came to rest lightly on Shayne’s thighs. It felt like they were both holding their breaths.</p><p>Damien snickered. “Now what?”</p><p>“Now,” Shayne started, sounding braver than he felt. “I ask if I can kiss you. Is that… okay?”</p><p>“Is it okay if you ask if you can kiss me?” Damien teased. “Yeah, man, that’s totally fine.”</p><p>“Oh my God, forget it, I don’t like you anymore.”</p><p>“Hmm, I think you do.”</p><p>To prove his point, Damien leaned in, bringing their mouths together. The angle wasn’t ideal and their noses got squished together a little; but still, in that moment, it was the greatest kiss either could remember having.</p><p>When they eventually pulled apart, they were both breathing a little harder than usual and blushing as they looked each other in the eyes again. Shayne sounded a little hysterical when he spoke again.</p><p>“Well, there’s no going back from that!”</p><p>Damien chuckled and kissed him again. This time it was a little harder, a little wetter; there was a whooshing sound in Shayne’s ears, and he thought his head might explode, but at least he’d die happy.<br/>
When Damien pulled away, Shayne followed and was rewarded with another quick peck on the lips.</p><p>“Shayne,” Damien breathed, eyes barely open. “I wanna like, lay you down on this couch and do things I don’t have a vocabulary for yet; but we’re at work and I don’t want an audience.”</p><p>Shayne tried his best to be calm, hoping to keep his dick from hulking out of his jeans at the thought of what Damien had just said. Instead of doing what he wanted (throwing caution to the wind and his underwear across the room) Shayne nodded, taking a steadying breath.</p><p>“This is a very… professional workplace. I mean, we do regularly fill Crocs with assorted goop and put our feet in them; but open-door blowjobs are probably out of the question.”</p><p>Damien’s eyes shut completely and he sounded like he was in pain.<br/>
“Don’t say blowjobs right now, it’s hard enough as it is - Shayne, you know what I meant!”</p><p>Shayne was giggling helplessly, and the two of them pulled apart, trying to get themselves under control so they could rejoin society outside the conference room. They exchanged one last kiss, too short for both of their likings, and returned to the cubicle area. </p><p>Ian popped up behind a half wall, smiling a maniac’s smile.<br/>
“Are you guys friends again?”</p><p>Shayne nodded, keeping his face neutral. “Yeah, best friends forever,” he said in his Bryce Chryson voice, and high-fived Damien with no coordination whatsoever. Then they walked in opposite directions and attempted to have a normal work day, much to the disappointment of Ian and the others watching.</p><p>//</p><p>With Damien off shooting for Smosh Games and Shayne writing sketches, they spent the rest of the day apart. Every time Shayne glanced at the clock on the wall, he felt slightly giddy… in spite of not actually knowing what would happen once they were off work.<br/>
He did briefly attempt to imagine it, but that thought got messy fast, and he shut it down and focused on work instead. </p><p>Just as the writers agreed to wrap it up for the day, Damien appeared in the doorway. Shayne spotted him and smiled.<br/>
“Are you here to walk me to my locker?” He said, trying to hide his genuine excitement behind a cocky grin.</p><p>“Of course: You’re the most popular girl in school,” Damien replied. “And I figured if I carry your books, you’ll let me take you to homecoming.”</p><p>Shayne straight up giggled and Monica left the room, shaking her head at them, hiding a smile. Damien and Shayne walked to the parking lot, getting into individual cars after agreeing to meet up at Damien’s place. </p><p>//</p><p>They played videogames for a while, as if this was any other day. Shayne went through Damien’s cupboards, looking for snacks, eating things without asking him first, just like he’d do on any other day. At one point Shayne asked Damien a question and Damien answered it by burping; everything was as it had always been.</p><p>At least until two hours in, when they finished another game of Nidhogg and both put their controllers down as if in unspoken agreement. They turned their heads towards each other, just looking at each other for a little while.<br/>
Shayne reached for Damien’s hand and they laced their fingers together. Even with the game menu music playing, the room felt unbearably quiet.<br/>
Shayne cleared his throat, breaking eye contact to look at their joined hands.</p><p>“If you’re having second thoughts, I… I understand, it’s-“</p><p>Shayne stopped talked when he realized that Damien was shaking slightly with silent laughter.<br/>
“I asked you to come home with me; we played some vidjemo games, and you ate all my food. These are very sexy activities.”</p><p>Shayne snorted. “It’s what we always do.”</p><p>“And it’s all been foreplay, mister, all these years.”</p><p>They both started laughing. It was one of those times where the thing itself was not funny, yet once the laughter started, neither was able to stop. After a while they got a hold of themselves. Damien rubbed his eyes and sighed.</p><p>“I’m sorry if I seemed super cocky back at the office; I don’t know what I’m doing. When I came to get you at work, I didn’t have a plan. I don’t know if you expected me to throw you over my shoulder and carry you to bed as soon as we walked in the door, but..”</p><p>He trailed off, shrugging awkwardly. Shayne shook his head.<br/>
“I would never expect that, because there’s no way you can carry me.”</p><p>“I could absolutely carry you.”</p><p>“No, I’m telling you, I’m denser than you think.”</p><p>“You’re denser than <i>you</i> think if you think I can’t carry you.”</p><p>Shayne snickered, getting off the couch. He pulled Damien with him and stood in front of him, expectantly. He gestured between them. Damien was deeply confused.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Carry me, since you’re so convinced you can. But don’t hurt yourself, we’ve got Disneyland on Thursday.”</p><p>Damien gamely stepped forward, lifting up his chin a little, as if he wanted to add to the height he already had on Shayne. Then he lunged forward, throwing his arms around Shayne’s middle, lifting him slightly off the ground.</p><p>Damien made a noise of exertion, legs shaking a little. “My god, you’re dense!”</p><p>“Like a dying star,” Shayne said in a tone that suggested he was proud of it. “Feel free to put me down at any time.”</p><p>Damien carefully placed him back on the ground, but he kept his arms around Shayne’s waist. He squeezed a little, smirking. Meeting each other’s eyes again, Shayne feared another awkward moment; but then, surprising even himself, he reached up and pulled Damien in for a kiss.</p><p>Like a switch had been flipped, they were right back to where they’d been on the couch at work. The kiss deepened and Shayne quietly moaned into it, one hand sneaking into the back pocket of Damien’s pants, pushing their bodies closer together.<br/>
Damien broke the kiss to give attention to Shayne’s neck instead. Shayne’s eyes blinked shut.</p><p>“It’s really weird kissing someone who’s taller than me.”</p><p>“I would think you’d be used to that,” Damien said, pausing between kisses.</p><p>“I’m not that short,” Shayne said, unbothered. </p><p>“I could put you in my pocket.”</p><p>“You,” Shayne tried, attention slipping as Damien’s hands went under his shirt. “You wish you could put yourself in <i>my</i> pocket.”</p><p>Damien pulled away slightly, looking both amused and outraged.<br/>
“If that’s dirty talk, it’s about the worst I’ve ever heard.”</p><p>“Then why do you have a boner?”</p><p>“Why do <i>you</i> have a boner?”</p><p>They stood there for a second, just looking at each other, both of them trying to hold back laughter.<br/>
Then something shifted ever so slightly again, like there was suddenly less air in the room. Paying attention now, they felt the heat of their embrace, their bodies pressing slightly against each other. They both moved in for another kiss, this one more frantic.<br/>
In a matter of seconds, Shayne’s shirt had been shoved up and pulled off, and soon both guys tumbled onto the couch, Damien on top. Shayne marveled at how confidently Damien moved, in spite of his earlier claim that he was clueless about the whole situation.</p><p>Then Damien ran his tongue over one of Shayne nipples and all thought beyond “Yes, that, more!” became impossible. He must have said it out loud, because Damien obeyed. When the sensation became too much, Shayne let out a groan and pulled Damien back up to kissing height. This had the added bonus of getting his crotch within reach, and Shayne opened Damien’s pants and slipped his hand inside the front of them.<br/>
Damien stuttered out a moan as Shayne stroked him through his briefs. He kissed Damien’s jaw, shivering pleasantly at the feeling of the other’s shaky breath dancing over his skin. Damien looked <i>gone</i>.<br/>
His eyes were closed, brows furrowed, and little noises kept escaping his parted lips.<br/>
Shayne stopped a second to get his hands inside Damien’s briefs, and as soon as he got his hand wrapped around the scorching bare skin of Damien’s –</p><p>“Oh g-uh!“ Damien tensed up, grabbing for Shayne’s wrist, squeezing it a little too hard as he came, spilling onto both of their hands and Shayne’s stomach. “Fuck,” he hissed, hips moving in a few more small thrusts as he finished.<br/>
His eyes slowly opened, looking into Shayne’s that were alight with awe and lust. Damien drew away slightly, taking the weight off his arms. He was clearly still coming down from his orgasm, but already he was in full Damien Mode.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” he said, squeezing his eyes shut. ”That was so fast, I didn’t mean to, I-“</p><p>His eyes roamed over Shayne’s bare chest, his stomach decorated with splashes of come. There was a part of Damien, somewhere deep in his primal brain, that recognized this to be the most amazing thing he’d ever seen; but right now most of it was clouded by his anxiety.</p><p>“Did I hurt you? Your wrist? Wow, I made a mess; I should have warned you,” he rambled. “Let me- I’m gonna get you a wash -..”</p><p>He trailed off as Shayne took his hand and, without a hint of hesitation, licked off a glob of liquid. Damien stared as he deftly swallowed it. </p><p>“Oh wow, you just did that.”</p><p>“I just did that,” Shayne confirmed, looking smug as hell. “Come here…”</p><p>He tugged at Damien’s shirt to bring him down so he could kiss him again. Damien only wavered a moment before he accepted the kiss fully. He didn’t particularly enjoy the taste of himself, but had to admit he minded it less served from Shayne’s tongue.<br/>
Pulling back again, he cradled Shayne’s face in one hand, stroking his thumb over the other’s cheekbone.</p><p>“<i>Now</i> can I get you a washcloth?”</p><p>Shayne shook his head. “I appreciate your service-mindedness, but don’t bother just yet. There’s gonna be more to clean up in a minute.”</p><p>With that he opened his pants, and Damien mentally scolded himself.<br/>
“Shit, sorry, you’re still..”</p><p>“Dames, seriously, stop apologizing,” Shayne said, smiling softly. “Just.. stay where I can see you, okay?”</p><p>He pushed down his pants and briefs just enough to pull out his dick, and started jerking himself off, setting a fairly quick pace from the beginning. Just the sight of Damien falling apart above him had almost gotten him off; and now that he was finally getting his hands on himself, it wasn’t going to take long to get the rest of the way.<br/>
His breathing was uneven already. He looked right at Damien, only closing his eyes a second or two at the time. Damien sat frozen for a second, the blush from his recent orgasm replaced by a blush from being watched so intently; and from the fact that watching him was clearly working.</p><p>He forced himself into motion, leaning over Shayne to still his moving hand. Shayne, pupils wide, opened and closed his mouth a few times like a fish, scandalized to be stopped at a crucial moment. Damien placated him with a kiss.<br/>
“I just wanna try something, if that’s okay.”</p><p>Shayne nodded slowly. He would probably have said yes to being thrown off a cliff if it meant that Damien would keep touching him a little longer. Damien worked Shayne’s pants and briefs further down, exposing more of his sensitive skin to room temperature. Goosebumps rose on his thighs, greeting Damien’s hands as they moved upwards. His thumbs found the curves of Shayne’s Adonis belt and rested there, while he leaned in and pressed a few light kisses to Shayne’s abdomen.</p><p>“Let me know if this is completely terrible,” he murmured.</p><p>Shayne just let out a heavy breath, watching as Damien carefully took his dick in his mouth. His soft, wet lips slid up and down the shaft, and Shayne’s head fell back, as he let out a shuddering moan.<br/>
“O-oh my god,” he choked out, his muscles flexing under Damien’s hands as he tried not to thrust his hips upwards. He didn’t trust his hands enough to let them near Damien’s hair, and instead he gripped the couch cushion under his head with white-knuckled force. He angled his head so he could watch, spellbound by the sight of what was being done to him.</p><p>For someone who was giving their first ever blowjob, Damien seemed to have a decent understanding of the basic mechanics. His moves were a little awkward, as one would expect; but the way he always seemed to know what Shayne liked, in any situation, applied to this too.<br/>
He moved slowly up and down, pausing to swirl his tongue around the head, making Shayne whimper. Damien brought one of his hands in to help, leisurely stroking in tune with the bops of his head. Shayne gasped, drawing in a few sharp breaths in a row.</p><p>“Oh,” he said in harsh whisper, freeing the couch cushion from his death grip to tap Damien’s shoulder with a shaking hand.<br/>
“Fuck, stop, <i>stop-stop-stop</i>, oh!”</p><p>Damien let Shayne off and looked up at him, just in time to take the first spurt of come to the chin. Shayne moaned breathlessly as his dick twitched several more times, adding to the mess on his stomach.<br/>
His head dropped back and he shivered pleasantly, laying there for just a few seconds of rest as he returned to reality. When he had the strength, he propped himself up on one elbow, reaching for Damien’s amused face.</p><p>“Hey,” Shayne said, laughter bubbling in his chest. “You’ve got a little something, right here..”</p><p>He wiped the underside of Damien’s chin with a finger, coating the tip of it with liquid. Before an inappropriate joke could form in Shayne’s still-rebooting brain, Damien leaned forward and closed his lips around the fingertip, sucking it clean.<br/>
Shayne winced in slight pain as his dick made a valiant attempt to get fully hard again. He ran his thumb over Damien’s lips, shaking his head.</p><p>“How dare you.”</p><p>“How’s that different than what you did?”</p><p>“It’s not, it’s just very, very hot when you do it, so.. how dare you.”</p><p>Damien chuckled, moving up so he could kiss Shayne deeply, taking both their breaths away again. Shayne’s eyes stayed closed when they parted.<br/>
“I don’t remember the last time I came that hard.”</p><p>“Oh wow,” Damien said, raising his eyebrows.</p><p>“Mhm.”</p><p>“And that was my first attempt,” he said, mischief in his eyes. “Imagine what I’ll be able do when I’ve had some practice.”</p><p>Shayne tilted his head to the side, pretending to imagine it; then he accidentally imagined it, and winced again.<br/>
“Okay, we have to get off this couch, there’s too much sexual energy here and I’m only a man!”</p><p>After another kiss, Damien got off the couch and pulled Shayne with him. They needed to clean up, and since it was Shayne’s stomach that was slowly drying and getting itchy, he got in the shower first. Once he was out, Damien went in, and not long after they were both back on the couch. Shayne had borrowed clean underwear and a t-shirt, and they were back to playing Nidhogg. </p><p>Once again the mood settled back to normal. If Shayne was dropped into this moment in time, he would have had no idea what had happened on that very couch less than an hour earlier.<br/>
Part of him felt like this was a good thing; they’d gotten each other off, they were still best friends, and there was no lingering weirdness. This should feel amazing, but it didn’t.</p><p>What if Damien regretted doing this? If he did, he would pretend it had never happened, stowing away any complicated feelings in the back of his mind, denying them out of existence.<br/>
And if that happened, Shayne would let him. Not out of apathy; but rather because seeing Damien pull away would be too painful to fight.</p><p>So, sitting on Damien’s couch, wearing his clothes, even with the memory of his hands, his mouth, still so fresh in his mind, Shayne felt a growing fear. He wanted things to feel normal; but he was afraid of things going entirely back to what they were.<br/>
At one point Damien paused the game and went to the bathroom. When he came back and unpaused it, Shayne immediately paused it again. Damien looked at him, questioningly.<br/>
Shayne fiddled with his controller.</p><p>“When I leave here today…” He started over and weighed his words. “What happens when I leave today?”</p><p>His stomach was in knots, mind going a million miles per hour trying to anticipate Damien’s reply. Damien gave him an incredulous look, then a slight smile.</p><p>“You’re leaving today?”</p><p>They ordered pizza.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Baby Boy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Shayne and Damien know each other better than anyone; but as their relationship evolves into something new, it turns out there are still things they can learn about one another.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In the original draft of their plan, Shayne and Damien were going to reveal their brand-new relationship status to their friends and co-workers only once they’d had a few weeks to settle into it themselves.<br/>
In reality, everyone at the office suspected by the end of day one, and knew for sure by the end of day three.<br/>
And honestly, it only took that long because they went to Disneyland on day two, leaving everyone pretty distracted.</p>
<p>The day after Disneyland, however, Matt Raub called them out in front of several squad and crewmembers - a move he would quickly apologize for; he had mostly been joking and expected them to deny it.<br/>
But with a shared look of understanding, Shayne and Damien had come clean.<br/>
Yes, Matt was right: They were “dating”, though that was hardly the word to use.</p>
<p>“I am shocked,” Mari said, taking money out of her wallet.</p>
<p>“We all are,” Ian agreed, putting the money in his pocket. “I certainly wouldn’t have bet on this happening.”</p>
<p>After years of jokes and months of hints, it seemed almost anticlimactic when the office took their romance in stride. Still, they were both massively grateful when some people said congrats, most just smiled, and only Lasercorn made a lewd comment.<br/>
When Damien and Shayne had lunch together at a café later that day, Damien seemed to space out for a moment, fork stopped halfway between the plate and his mouth. Shayne waved a hand in front of his face to break his trance, and Damien came back to reality.</p>
<p>“Is it crazy that I think we got away with this too easily?”</p>
<p>“What do you mean?”</p>
<p>“We got our shit together, <i>got together</i>,” Damien raised a meaningful eyebrow. “And our co-workers apparently all knew this would happen and are almost too cool about it.”</p>
<p>Shayne glanced to the side. The nearest strangers were several tables away and deep in their own conversation. He reached for Damien’s hand and gave it a squeeze.</p>
<p>“I know it’s hard to accept really good things when they’re just handed to you; but maybe after all this time; after all the small bumps along the way; maybe it’s okay that we don’t have to fight through this part? Maybe we can just have this.”</p>
<p>Damien’s expression softened and he lowered his voice to a suggestive murmur.</p>
<p>“Shayne Robert Topp, if we weren’t in public, I would lay you down on this table right now.”</p>
<p>“If we weren’t in public, I’d let you.”</p>
<p>They looked at each other for a moment, the air heavy between them; then Shayne snapped out of it and cleared his throat.</p>
<p>“I’m gonna eat my food now and not look at you.”</p>
<p>“I will do the same, with my food.”</p>
<p>“Cool.”</p>
<p>“Cool.”</p>
<p>//</p>
<p>The next few weeks went by in a flash. Long work days were occasionally interrupted by stolen kisses; quick ones in hallways, more indulgent ones in empty rooms, and one that almost went too far in the storage room where they kept their costumes.<br/>
Things had escalated to light groping when Garrett walked in; but luckily they were hidden by a rack of clothes and could detangle themselves before they were seen.<br/>
Not that it mattered much, of course; Garrett had taken one look at their red faces and walked away, chuckling and shaking his head.</p>
<p>After that mortifying ordeal, they were more careful. They agreed that it wasn’t really fair to their coworkers to mess around at work; while very tempting, it was unprofessional and took time away from doing actual work. Also, not everyone would be as chill as Garrett if they caught a glimpse of something.<br/>
There was still kissing, a quick smooch here and there, otherwise one or both of them would probably lose their mind - but everything in moderation.</p>
<p>On their own time, they were also together a lot, still. Most of the hours they hung out were spent as they’d always been. They played video games, watched TV, cooked and ate together; and just spent time in the same room, not doing anything.<br/>
There was also <i>a lot</i> of making out. They spent the night together as often as they could, only sleeping apart when other plans interfered, or when one of them was too tired to come over. Along with everything else they knew about each other, their physical knowledge was broadening.</p>
<p>Sometimes, more often as time went on, one of them would make a move towards taking things further; but then pull back, and they’d end up getting each other off with their hands or a blowjob.<br/>
Neither of them was ever left unsatisfied, but there were sure signs that they were inching towards the next step.<br/>
Shayne had a lot of questions, and he took them to the best person he could think of: his former So Random! costar and current friend, Brandon.</p>
<p>“I’m so happy that you and Damien are together; even though you guys are both like my brothers, so it’s a little weird and gross. Still, so happy.”</p>
<p>“That’s extremely helpful, Bran, thank you.”</p>
<p>Brandon handed him a La Croix and they sat down at the dining table in Brandon’s spacious living room. Shayne looked around, impressed by the generous amounts of daylight coming in through the room’s large windows.</p>
<p>“Your place is awesome.”</p>
<p>“Oh, thank you! Now tell me what you’re really here to talk about.”</p>
<p>“Am I that transparent?” </p>
<p>Brandon placed a comforting hand on top of Shayne’s. “Shayne, with love: You’re a great actor and a terrible faker.”</p>
<p>Shayne had no problem agreeing with that. He laid out his current situation to Brandon, sparing a few details that he felt should be kept between him and Damien. Brandon listened intently and was seemingly greatly entertained by the situation. </p>
<p>“Okay, a couple of notes,” Brandon said, counting on his fingers. “One, you guys are adorable. Two, I’m so relieved, because for moment I thought you wanted me to teach you how to rim or something.”</p>
<p>“Oh my god,” Shayne said, laying his head down on the table as he was momentarily overcome by laughter. When he was able to face Brandon again, he still had a deep blush in his cheeks.</p>
<p>“No,” he said, wiping his sweaty hands on the thighs of his jeans. “No, no.. rimming; just wondering how to have the sex conversation. Or, <i>if</i> to have the conversation.”</p>
<p>“Shayne, you already know what I’m gonna say to that: Yes to having the conversation. Communication is key, and all that stuff. You know this; you’ve done this.”</p>
<p>“I know, and I don’t know why it’s so difficult now. Damien and I tell each other everything; he should be the easiest person in the world to have this conversation with.”</p>
<p>“Maybe you feel awkward because the two of you have this well-established way of interacting. You’re set in your ways.”</p>
<p>“Except that hasn’t stopped us from making out and.. other stuff.”</p>
<p>Brandon chuckled, resting his head in his hands. “And you definitely had a lengthy conversation about your expectations beforehand.”</p>
<p>“No..”</p>
<p>“No!” Brandon threw his hands up. “Of course not! You probably went from kissing to pawing at each other like horny teens, without thinking of what would happen after.” He shook his head at Shayne’s guilty expression. “It happens, you’re fine. And, you’re smart enough to realize that the two of you having sex might require a little more talking.”</p>
<p>Shayne sighed, a little defeated.<br/>
“In theory, I know everything; I know the mechanics of it; I have a goddamn shopping list in my head. I just don’t- What would I even say?”</p>
<p>Brandon shot him a judgmental look.<br/>
“I don’t know, Shayne; what do you say to the <i>women</i> you sleep with?”</p>
<p>Shayne looked sheepish. “Fuck, Damien is right, I am a dumbass.”</p>
<p>Brandon laughed. “You’re not a dumbass; you’re just a chronic over thinker. You’re like, bi? Or pan, queer?”</p>
<p>“Queer, I guess,” Shayne mumbled.</p>
<p>“Right, whatever label, your instinct is correct: it’s not the same as being straight, the way you approach sex is different in certain ways. But you’ve never had straight sex.”</p>
<p>Shayne stared, visibly confused. Brandon explained.<br/>
“You’ve never had straight sex, because you weren’t straight when you were having it. And sure, having sex with a cis guy is different than having sex with a cis woman, physically speaking; but you’re not nervous because it’s a man.”</p>
<p>“It’s because it’s Damien.”</p>
<p>“Exactly. The practical aspects, you’ll get that, you’re a fast learner; the emotional stuff, you’re just gonna have to bite the bullet. I have no quick fix for that.”</p>
<p>“How ‘bout a slow fix?”</p>
<p>Brandon sighed overbearingly. “Complete honesty.”</p>
<p>Shayne groaned, putting his head back on the table. Brandon patted his head.</p>
<p>//</p>
<p>On the bright side, there was no rush; Shayne could cowardly avoid the conversation as another couple of weeks passed, because he and Damien were having a great time doing other things, sexual or otherwise.<br/>
Aside from working together and hanging out at home, they spent more off time together outside of their apartments as well. They went out for dinner; went to the gym; went to the movies, sneakily touching hands in the dark.<br/>
Neither of them had ever liked being public about their past relationships, outside of friends and family, so this was nothing new.</p>
<p>As for their friendship, the only thing that had really changed was the way they lunged at each other, as soon as they were alone.<br/>
One early evening, after a particularly stressful day of shooting, they had barely made it through Shayne’s front door before he slammed it and pushed Damien up against it, kissing him enthusiastically. Damien huffed against his lips, taken aback, but he soon found his bearings and returned the kiss fully, lips curling into a smile.</p>
<p>“It’s been that kind of day, huh?”</p>
<p>“You know your Randall character drives me wild,” Shayne deadpanned, deftly opening Damien’s pants. They had shot a Try Not To Laugh that afternoon.</p>
<p>Damien grinned giddily and allowed Shayne to pants him. For ages the squad had teased Shayne about being a starved virgin - all in good fun, of course - and it was almost believable, considering how damn insatiable he was.<br/>
Damien squeezed his shoulder. </p>
<p>“Your bedroom is right there.”</p>
<p>“Not good enough,” Shayne mumbled, taking Damien’s hardening dick in his mouth.</p>
<p>“You want me to use Randall’s voice while you do that?” Damien moaned, struggling to focus long enough to get the joke out. Shayne pinched his thigh.</p>
<p>They made it to Shayne’s bed only after they had both gotten off and cleaned up.<br/>
Snuggled up against each other, they drifted in and out of slumber, eventually just lying there quietly. Damien was running his fingertips lightly up and down Shayne’s arm. Suddenly he hit a particularly ticklish spot and Shayne shivered, making a noise in protest, and wiggled away from Damien.</p>
<p>Damien rolled over to catch him, now intending to tickle him on purpose. When Shayne almost managed to get out of reach, he grabbed him, pulling Shayne’s back against his chest. Shayne struggled for a second, trying to free his arms that were held in place by Damien’s.<br/>
His attempts to worm out of the embrace did nothing, except grind his ass against Damien’s crotch. After a few moves like that, Damien released his arms, and embraced Shayne’s middle instead, ceasing his movements.</p>
<p>“Okay, stop,” he managed, voice a little strained. Shayne could feel his beginning erection pressed against him.</p>
<p>“<i>Again?</i> Damien, it’s been like, an hour!”</p>
<p>“What can I say? I’m very susceptible to your wiggles.”</p>
<p>Shayne scoffed, laughing. Neither of them moved for a while, falling silent again. Then Damien spoke, lips against Shayne’s skin, making the little hairs rise on the back of his neck.<br/>
“Do you think about this?” he murmured vaguely, letting his hips press more firmly against Shayne.</p>
<p>Shayne’s eyes almost rolled back as he closed them. He knew exactly what Damien meant. Suddenly he felt dizzy with need, and he swallowed hard, pushing slightly back against Damien.<br/>
“Yes,” he admitted in a whisper. “I’ve thought about it a lot. I wasn’t sure how to talk to you about it; how to ask you what you want.”</p>
<p>Damien backed off little, tugging Shayne’s arm to get him to turn around. He did, bringing them face to face. Damien’s expression was too serious for Shayne’s liking, but his voice was still low and soft.</p>
<p>“This isn’t just about me, you know; what do <i>you</i> want?”</p>
<p>Shayne waivered; he’d tested hundreds of word combinations in his head, but none of them were as smooth as he’d like. He’d have to settle for simply making himself understood and hope Damien was so into it that the wording didn’t matter.<br/>
He ran his thumb over Damien's chin, looking at his mouth as he forced himself to speak.</p>
<p>“There’s not a lot I <i>don’t</i> want, with you,” Shayne started, pausing to swallow hard. “But, I really want you to fuck me. I wanna.. <i>take</i> you.”</p>
<p>He avoided eye contact for as long as he could, mortally embarrassed at his own words; but when he dared sneak a peek, it was clear that Damien was more than okay with what had been said. </p>
<p>“Shayne,” he breathed, failing to find any more words. He brought their mouths together and soon they were lost to the world again, knowing only each other.</p>
<p>//</p>
<p>Some people would probably say that planning sex was the wrong way to go about it. Something about spontaneity and instinctively knowing the right moment, or some poetic sentiment like that. But when the sex was to be had by two people with crazy work schedules and a decent amount of anxiety between them, some coordination was needed.</p>
<p>“We have the rest of our lives to have daredevilish sexcapades,” Damien quipped. “Just this once, I wanna make sure we have all the time in the world.”</p>
<p>Damien did a little online shopping; Shayne checked his work schedule for both Smosh and The Goldbergs: and soon everything fell into place. They found a Friday they could both take off, making it a nice long weekend.<br/>
“And nothing has to happen that weekend, obviously,” Shayne said, trying and failing to sound casual. “We’ll have the option, that’s all.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They made it to Thursday afternoon. It was still light outside.</p>
<p>//</p>
<p>They had been lazily making out for what felt like hours before any clothes started coming off. Shayne had been kissing and biting the same magical spot on Damien’s neck long enough that it would probably leave a mark. One day he was gonna try to get Damien off just doing that. He suspected it was possible, since Damien had asked for short breaks several times, shaking voice revealing how much it affected him.</p>
<p>Shayne was getting a little sweaty on the back of his neck, so he pulled off his sweatshirt and tossed it on the floor. It seemed to give Damien some unspoken permission that he’d needed, because he pulled Shayne’s t-shirt off and threw that too.<br/>
They went back to kissing and Damien thumbed one of Shayne’s nipples, relishing in the little noises it pulled from him. They’d both been comfortably hard for a while, almost tricking their bodies into not expecting anything more; now the mood was slowly but surely changing.</p>
<p>Now that Shayne was shirtless, his warm, soft skin felt electric under Damien’s hands. He wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d pulled away, and purple lightning had connected his fingers back to Shayne’s chest.<br/>
He got Shayne naked, stroking his hands over each new area of bare skin as it was exposed. He placed light kisses in the invisible trails of his hands. Shayne sighed blissfully, muscles flexing under his touch. </p>
<p>When Damien eventually started opening him op, gentle fingers slick with lube, Shayne felt more grateful than ever that he was doing this with someone he knew and trusted so completely. He knew he could say anything with a look and Damien would hear him.<br/>
His nerves, which he expected would make the situation uncomfortable, had pretty much vanished when Damien pressed a kiss to his knee and asked him to spread his legs.<br/>
He felt vulnerable, but in the best way; like he was giving himself as a gift and trusting that Damien would treat that gesture with the care it deserved.<br/>
Damien patiently worked him up to three fingers, and when discomfort gave way to pleasure, Shayne’s voice took on a slightly desperate tone.</p>
<p>“Okay, we’re good, I’m good.”</p>
<p>“Are you sure?” Damien said, mostly teasing.</p>
<p>“Yup, so good, get up here.”</p>
<p>Damien crawled upwards, sitting back on his heels. He took the condom Shayne handed him and put it on, letting his gaze drift over Shayne’s naked form in front of him. </p>
<p>“So beautiful,” he whispered, chuckling as Shayne blushed. He moved closer, kissing Shayne deeply as he positioned himself between his legs, hands stroking soothingly over his thighs.</p>
<p>He pushed in slowly, stopping to let Shayne adjust a few times, letting out a strained moan as he found himself fully inside. Shayne’s eyes were closed and his cheeks were flushed.<br/>
Damien kissed his temple and started moving slowly, searching Shayne’s face for the slightest hints of pain.<br/>
When he found one, he paused until Shayne gave him the go-ahead.</p>
<p>Soon the initial discomfort went away and Shayne could focus on the pleasure washing over him, a new wave with every thrust of Damien’s hips.<br/>
He ran his hands over Damien’s chest, his neck, his shoulders, feeling muscles shift with every movement.</p>
<p>He almost felt suspended in time, like he could just exist in that moment forever, but his body was asking for more. When exigent pleasure started building in his lower stomach, his fingers flexed against Damien’s torso and he gasped slightly, willing his brain to make a sentence.<br/>
He didn’t have to. Damien cradled his jaw with one hand, kissing him.</p>
<p>“Are you close?”</p>
<p>Shayne nodded, eyes slipping shut. The only sounds he registered were Damien’s breathing and their bodies meeting. He reached a hand down to jerk himself off, making Damien groan deeply at the sight. He let out clipped little moans with every thrust of Damien’s hips, moving his hand faster until he hit his peak.</p>
<p>“Damien,” he said in a whisper, shooting his load all over his own stomach and chest, moaning louder still as Damien gasped and lost his rhythm. He kissed Shayne’s neck, teeth grazing the skin accidentally as he came with a final choked moan.<br/>
In the seconds that followed, the only sound was their combined breaths, and their bodies slowly shifting against one another. Then they both started hearing the world outside again; faraway sounds of passing cars, and chirping birds in the trees outside the window. </p>
<p>Their breathing was labored still. Damien sighed in pleasure, kissing Shayne’s neck a few more times before pulling away, laying down next to him.<br/>
Shayne turned his head, pushing his nose against Damien’s shoulder. He snickered, sounding worn out.</p>
<p>“Great job, buddy.”</p>
<p>Damien rolled his eyes. “Thanks, I do what I can.”</p>
<p>Shayne propped himself up on one elbow, leaning in for another kiss. When they parted again, his eyes were soft.<br/>
“Really, though. You took good care of me.”</p>
<p>His voice still held a teasing tone, like the statement was too sincere and he was still trying to protect himself by layering it with humor. Damien saw right through it, running a hand down Shayne’s side.</p>
<p>“I’ll always take care of you.”</p>
<p>They snuggled closer together and Shayne pulled the covers over them both. They laid there quietly for a while as the setting sun turned the room peachy pink.<br/>
The moment lasted a blissful 10 minutes or so, before Shayne broke the silence.</p>
<p>“I’m starving.”</p>
<p>Damien groaned, pulling a pillow over his head.</p>
<p>//</p>
<p>They spent the weekend in various stages of undress, moving back and forth between the couch and the bed. As long as they were in the same room, it seemed impossible for them to keep their hands off each other.<br/>
They made out against the kitchen counter, nearly overcooking every meal they made.<br/>
They made out in the shower, undeterred by the amount of times they almost slipped and hurt themselves.<br/>
They made out on the couch, giving up on following the plot of whatever movie was on.<br/>
At one point Shayne went to the supermarket to get more food, and when he arrived home again, Damien greeted him like a returning war hero.</p>
<p>It wasn’t until early Sunday afternoon that they were able to regain some sanity. Shayne was lying on his stomach, barely able to lift his head off the mattress.<br/>
“We need to spend time with other people,” he croaked, dropping his head back down.</p>
<p>Damien snorted, kissing his shoulder. “Dude, I’m still <i>in</i> you. That’s a savage way to break up with someone.”</p>
<p>He lifted himself off Shayne and went to throw out the condom before returning to bed. Shayne turned to face him.<br/>
“That’s not what I meant, and you know that.”</p>
<p>“I know, I know,” Damien said, stealing a kiss. “And you’re right; we should probably spend some time with our other friends before they report us missing.”</p>
<p>“Also, if you fuck me again today, I think I might die. I’m not even sure I have bones anymore.”</p>
<p>Damien laughed, ruffling Shayne’s hair.<br/>
“I’m gonna ask the group chat if anyone wants to go to the mall, and maybe get some dinner later. And then I’m gonna shower, alone.”</p>
<p>“I’m gonna stay here until I can move, and then I’m gonna take a bath.”</p>
<p>“A <i>bath</i>?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I don’t know if I can stand for a while.. Stop looking proud of yourself, you bastard.”</p>
<p>Damien smirked. “Group chat, shower, and then I’ll run you a bath.”</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Shayne mumbled, already drifting off.</p>
<p>//</p>
<p>Sunday was always a tough day to get people to do things. Even so, while Shayne was soaking in his tub, Damien did manage to rally a few participants. Sarah, Olivia and Sam agreed to meet them at the mall. Sarah said that Claudio sent his love; he wanted to come but he was ‘skyping with Italy’, Sarah said, as if he was conferring with the entire country, not just a few family members.</p>
<p>Arriving at the mall, they agreed it was a little early for dinner, and shopping took precedence.<br/>
The girls dragged Damien off to look at clothes, under the guise of wanting his opinion; though it was fairly obvious that they were gonna force him to buy some new shirts. </p>
<p>Shayne and Sam went to the bookstore next to the clothing store, looking through the bargain bins outside the store.<br/>
From where they were standing, Shayne could see inside the clothing store, where Damien patiently let the girls pile clothes onto his arms. Shayne watched with a goofy smile until Sam elbowed him, breaking his trance.</p>
<p>“Dude,” Sam said, shaking his head with a smile. “It’s been less than 2 minutes; do you miss him or something?”</p>
<p>Shayne grimaced, embarrassed, and Sam laughed.<br/>
“Oh my god, you kind of do. That’s so cute, I can’t deal with this.”</p>
<p>He pretended to walk away, then quickly did a U-turn and came back. He shot Shayne an affectionate smile.<br/>
“I’m really happy for you, man.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Shayne exhibited a lot of self-control and only bought three books, while a defeated Damien left the clothing store with a big, heavy-looking bag.</p>
<p>“Apparently a lot of my shirts are garbage,” he said, glaring at Sarah with no real menace.</p>
<p>“Not garbage,” Sarah said, beaming at him. “Throwing them out would be really irresponsible; they should go in textile recycling.”</p>
<p>“All your good stuff used to be Shayne’s,”Olivia added. “Though now I guess you’ll have even easier access to his clothes.”</p>
<p>“He’s more interested in taking them off than putting them on,” Sam quipped, making the girls laugh, and Shayne give an outraged sputter. Damien blushed, looking away, but he glanced at Shayne with a bashful smile that assured him that he was fine with the teasing.</p>
<p>They ended up at the food court where they set up a makeshift buffet of mismatched food from different chains. Shayne dipped a chicken nugget into a barbecue sauce, sighing exaggerated.<br/>
“I miss Chick-fil-A’s sauces.”</p>
<p>Sarah nodded. Olivia stirred her milkshake with a fry and pointed it at Shayne before taking a bite.<br/>
“I can teach you how to make your own, even better than Chik-fil-A’s.”</p>
<p>“If that’s true, I’ll seriously love you forever.”</p>
<p>“Hey..” Sam said, pretending to be offended. “I’m the half of this couple you’re in love with, remember?”</p>
<p>Shayne laughed, agreeing with him, but he still made Olivia promise to send him the recipes. They finished their food and not long after it was time to go home. They said goodbye in the parking lot, and went to their respective cars.</p>
<p>Shayne fastened his seat belt, realizing that Damien was just sitting in the passenger seat, not buckling himself in. He turned to Shayne with a serious expression on his face, and Shayne’s heart skipped a beat. His brain offered dozens of reasons why Damien might be upset, but before he could pick one to overanalyze, Damien broke the silence.</p>
<p>“I love you.”</p>
<p>Shayne’s shoulders dropped and he smiled, feeling relieved and warm.<br/>
“I love you, too. Why do you look so serious, you had me scared for a second.”</p>
<p>“I just,” Damien was stumbling over the words. “I know we’ve said it hundreds of times, as friends; but I wanted to say it as- I wanted to say it now.”</p>
<p>“You can say boyfriend if you want,” Shayne whispered, smirking. Damien tilted his head to the side, considering the word. Then he smiled and reached over to take Shayne’s hand, lacing their fingers together.</p>
<p>“Let’s go home.”</p>
<p>When he parked outside Damien’s place, Shayne realized that he hadn’t thought of his own apartment at all when Damien said ‘home’. </p>
<p>That night, when they brushed their teeth before bed, Shayne asked Damien to move in together.<br/>
He got a minty fresh kiss in response, and then an enthusiastic yes.</p>
<p>-<br/>-</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Alright, look, I forgot that Damien has a roommate in real life.<br/>So either imagine that he lives alone in this reality, or that Mark Raub is just constantly rushing out of his own home to get away from these horny maniacs.</p>
<p>(Also, I originally meant for this to be two chapters, but I think I have one more in me. Your comments are pure serotonin, and it's fueling my writing &lt;3 )</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Perpendicular</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Moving in together was an easy transition. Shayne hadn’t slept at his own place in weeks; and they’d lived together before, so it was just like that, except they now shared a bed.<br/>
Damien loved the domesticity of it all. Shayne cooked most of their dinners, at his own insistence, and in turn, Damien did most of the cleaning. <br/>
Shayne knew exactly when to give Damien alone time, and when to keep him company. They knew from experience that it was easy to take people’s presence for granted when you live with them; so they made sure to spend deliberate time together as well. </p><p><br/>
Once a month they had dinner with Olivia and Sam, and Sara and Claudio, all three couples taking turns hosting. But mostly the two of them just enjoyed each other’s company. <br/>
They bickered sometimes, though mostly they were good about communicating openly; they both knew to speak up if something was bothering them.<br/>
That was the best part of having been friends for so long before they started dating; they weren’t building a relationship from scratch, but adding onto their existent one.<br/>
Just because they were boyfriends now, they hadn’t stopped being best friends.</p><p> </p><p>//</p><p> </p><p>Since they were out to everyone at work, they didn’t have to worry about being casually affectionate at the office; but Shayne knew that Damien had concerns about their relationship bleeding into videos. He didn’t take it personally; it had nothing to do with him; Damien had always preferred to keep his relationship private. Shayne was mostly the same way.<br/>
<br/>
Since their romantic relationship was more or less an extension of their friendship, it was simple enough to keep things professional in front of the camera. Or, as professional as Smosh shoots ever got, at least.<br/>
It was actually more difficult when one of them <em>wasn’t</em> in videos. Not because of their own behavior, in the absence of one another, but because of their fellow cast members.</p><p>“Damien is not here this week,” Shayne said, during the opening of a Games video. “So I’m subbing in.”<br/>
“There’s a joke about you being a sub in there somewhere,” Lasercorn said with a smirk, making Shayne’s heart skip a beat when he got it. The cast had literally always made jokes like that; it was just a little unnerving to hear now that there was some semblance of truth to what they were saying.<br/>
<br/>
Ian was the worst out of all of them; doing the Smoshcast with him was an exercise in benevolent patience, as he threw out one dig after another. In reality, he was revealing nothing; the things he said barely qualified as hints. But this time, with Damien out of town during a shoot week, Shayne was a little on edge.<br/>
<br/>
On that particular Smoshcast, it was Ian, Shayne, and Mari at the table, and the current topic was long distance relationships. Ian was clearly weaving in references to Damien being away, though just subtle enough that listeners wouldn’t catch on.<br/>
When Shayne completely ignored it, Ian seemed to get bored of taunting him, opting for more serious participation instead.</p><p>“Even if the time you spend apart is only a week or two, it can be pretty rough,” he said. “In a healthy relationship, you’re individuals and you don't <em>need</em>-need each other; but you've slowly made room for each other in your daily lives. So when one person is suddenly gone, it’s like there's a hole where they used to be.”<br/>
<br/>
Shayne was floored by the shift in tone. “That's- Yeah, agreed.”<br/>
<br/>
But then Ian smiled deviously and added, “ ..and when your daily routine involves a certain amount of dong-slanging, obviously different kinds of holes go unfilled.”<br/>
<br/>
Mari laughed, losing it even more when she saw Shayne go slightly red and roll his eyes.<br/>
<br/>
”God dammit..” Shayne sighed, unable to hide the hint of a smile. “Kevin?”<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah, we're cutting that out,” Kevin confirmed.<br/>
<br/>
//<br/>
<br/>
Shoot weeks were always a little hectic, so Shayne barely had time to miss Damien, as he got home late and went to sleep early. Still, after a few days without his boyfriend, he laid in bed one night, unable to fall asleep. He was exhausted from shooting all day; he could probably have made things easier on himself by screaming a little less, but hey, that’s show business.<br/>
<br/>
He wondered if Damien had time to miss him. He was in Georgia for a family reunion, and was probably surrounded by a slew of adoring little cousins, playing with them all day.<br/>
They’d been texting, but their replies were far between, as they both had a lot going on around them.<br/>
And texting wasn’t the same as talking anyway. <br/>
<br/>
Shayne rolled onto Damien’s side of the bed, pulling his boyfriend’s pillow to his chest. It smelled like him, and Shayne buried his face in it until he needed air. He lifted his head and blinked a few times, almost able to make out the shape of his nightstand in the dark. His phone was on there. It would be so easy to grab it and call Damien.<br/>
Except for the time difference, he realized for the umpteenth time, sighing. Georgia was 3 hours ahead, and if Shayne was in bed, Damien had to have been asleep for hours. <br/>
<br/>
For a dangerous couple of seconds, Shayne considered getting out of bed; maybe he would watch TV until he felt tired.<br/>
<em>That’s the devil talking</em>, he thought to himself. It would only serve to keep him awake longer, and he’d be useless the whole next day.<br/>
<br/>
He was briefly fantasizing about calling in sick – though he wouldn’t dare, not during a shoot week – when his phone lit up. He scrambled to grab it, seeing a missed call from Damien. His heartbeat rose. He always put his phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’ when he went to bed, so all calls were automatically rejected.<br/>
Unlocking his screen, he quickly called Damien back and got an answer right away.<br/>
<br/>
“Hey, baby,” Damien said softly, sounding tired but happy. <br/>
<br/>
“Hey,” Shayne answered, blushing at the term of endearment; they were so used to the nicknames they called each other by before they got together; it was rare to hear anything else.<br/>
<br/>
“Did I wake you?”<br/>
<br/>
“No,” Shayne hesitated, but decided to be honest. “I was actually thinking about calling you, because I couldn’t sleep; but I thought you’d be in bed by now.”<br/>
<br/>
“I was, but I woke up. Don’t know why. So, I decided to check in on you. Is this the first night you’ve had trouble sleeping?”<br/>
<br/>
He sounded worried. Shayne laid back on the bed, getting comfortable.<br/>
“Shockingly, yes. I’ve been pretty tired these past few days, but tonight.. I guess I just miss you too much.” <br/>
<br/>
“I miss you too; it’s weird going to sleep without you now.”<br/>
<br/>
“I feel the same way.” He couldn’t help but tease a little. “Especially since you’re usually the one to tire me out. Could use some of that right now..”<br/>
<br/>
“Shayne,” Damien groaned, frustrated. “We are not doing phone sex. I sleep on an air mattress in the same room as my nephew. I’m literally on the porch right now, staring into the creepiest woods, because it’s the only place I could talk without waking anyone up.”<br/>
<br/>
“Well, why don’t you whip it out and give the forest animals something to talk about.”<br/>
<br/>
“Gross. Go to sleep, you weird perv.”<br/>
<br/>
Shayne snickered and Damien couldn’t help but do the same. They went quiet for a moment, and Shayne fiddled with the corner of his pillow cover. His limbs started to get heavy, and he felt calmer than he had in days.<br/>
<br/>
“I love you, Damien.”<br/>
<br/>
“I love you too, so much. I can’t wait to come home and see you. Next family thing, you’re coming with me, alright?”<br/>
<br/>
“That sounds fun,” Shayne replied, voice garbled by impending sleep. “I’m sleeping.”<br/>
<br/>
Damien chuckled. “I can tell. Sleep tight, baby boy, see you soon.” <br/>
<br/>
“Soon,” Shayne murmured, and then he was out.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><br/>
//</p><p> </p><p>“Shayne, you’re leaving?” It was Matt Raub calling out to him from the other end of the bullpen. Shayne turned around, nodding as he walked backwards towards the front door.<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah, I’m out. See you tomorrow.”<br/>
<br/>
“It’s 2.30, where are you going?”<br/>
<br/>
Shayne stopped, getting antsy. “I’m picking up Damien at the airport.”<br/>
<br/>
“Oh, right,” Matt said, snapping his fingers. “Hang on, I need you to look at something real quick..”<br/>
<br/>
Matt started to walk into his office – Shayne felt like his head was gonna explode, he wanted to go, dammit – but then he turned back, pointing at Shayne.<br/>
“Just kidding, go get your man.”<br/>
<br/>
Shayne flipped him off and ran to his car.<br/>
<br/>
Usually driving to the airport in LA traffic was psychological terror at best; but it seemed the universe was on Shayne’s side, as he hit every green light and only got honked at once. The radio played a love song he recognized but couldn’t remember the title or artist of.<br/>
<br/>
He parked at LAX and headed inside, because there was no way he wasn’t picking Damien up at the gate. He watched the info screen every 5 minutes, just to make sure Damien was still arriving on time. He kind of wished he’d thought to make a sign. He smiled, imagining holding a sign that said ‘Daniel Hass’, or something like that.<br/>
Next time he’d make a sign.<br/>
<br/>
Suddenly he tensed as his brain pulled up a foggy memory. What had Damien said on the phone? <em>“Next family thing, you’re coming with me, alright?”</em><br/>
<br/>
How had he missed that?! In all the years they’d been friends, he’d never attended an extended Haas family gathering; going as his boyfriend would be a huge deal. He knew Damien had told his parents and his sister that they were together, but his whole family?<br/>
<br/>
“Shayne?”<br/>
<br/>
He whipped his head up, seeing Damien walking towards him, pulling his suitcase. He was smiling giddily, looking as thrilled as Shayne felt. Letting go of the suitcase handle, Damien threw his arms around him and they hugged tightly, probably not fooling anyone into thinking that this was two bros reuniting. <br/>
When they pulled apart, Damien leaned in and kissed him quickly, picking his suitcase back up. Shayne looked around, blushing a little.<br/>
<br/>
“There’s.. people.”<br/>
<br/>
“I didn’t see anyone take their phone out,” Damien said with a shrug. “Let’s go home.”<br/>
<br/>
They walked to the car as Damien shared family gossip from his trip; who was pregnant; who had changed careers; how the kids were doing in school. On the rest of the drive home, he asked Shayne about the week of shoots he’d missed, and Shayne filled him in. He had a feeling Damien could tell he was distracted, and not just from keeping his eyes on the road.<br/>
<br/>
When he lost track of a sentence and trailed off, Damien didn’t push it and instead let a comfortable silence take over. Before long, Shayne turned the car onto their street and parked. He turned off the engine and unbuckled his seatbelt; Damien took off his as well; neither moved to leave the car.<br/>
<br/>
 “We have to stop meeting like this,” Damien quipped.<br/>
<br/>
They both leaned in at the same time, sharing the kiss they couldn’t have at the airport, no matter how nonchalant Damien had been. His hand went to the back of Shayne’s neck, thumb caressing the sensitive skin. Shayne’s hand was on its way up Damien’s thigh before they both seemed to realize where they were and pulled back.<br/>
<br/>
They looked at each other and laughed a little sheepishly, then finally left the car and headed inside. Damien closed the front door behind them and locked it like he was making a point. When his eyes met Shayne’s, they held a lot of filthy promises; but when he realized Shayne wasn’t responding in kind, he stepped closer, worried.<br/>
<br/>
“Hey, are you okay? You seem a little out of it.”<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Shayne gestured to the couch and they both sat down. “It’s just, when I was waiting for you at the airport, I realized what you said the night I couldn’t fall asleep. About joining you for the next family thing?”<br/>
<br/>
Damien smirked, clearly pleased. “Oh, good, you heard it; I thought you were already off in dreamland.”<br/>
<br/>
“I kind of was.. Did you mean it?”<br/>
<br/>
“What?” Damien frowned. “Of course I meant it; am I one to say stuff I don’t mean?”<br/>
<br/>
Shayne shook his head, absentmindedly fiddling with the hem of Damien’s shirt.<br/>
“I was just a little surprised that you’d want to bring me home, as your boyfriend. And the way you kissed me in the middle of the airport, where anyone could see us.”<br/>
<br/>
Damien stopped Shayne’s idle hand by lacing their fingers together. “Are you upset that I did that?”<br/>
<br/>
“No. Not even a little bit. I was happy. It’s just, your extended family doesn’t know you’re into guys. And we’ve both always kept our relationships private. I was surprised, but.. it felt really good, kissing you in public.”<br/>
<br/>
They sat there for a moment, smiling goofily at each other. Sharing one more kiss, they moved closer, leaning on each other. Shayne sighed contently as the weight of his anxiety lifted. Damien kissed his jaw.<br/>
<br/>
“It’s not gonna happen all at once,” he said, sneaking a warm hand under Shayne’s shirt. “But at some point, I want everyone to know what you mean to me.”<br/>
<br/>
“I thought you preferred the secrecy,” Shayne managed to get out, focus already lost. He started helping Damien in his mission to get Shayne out of his clothes. Damien pushed him onto his back, working his pants open.<br/>
<br/>
“I think I’ve realized that my relationship doesn’t have to be private,” he mused, pulling Shayne’s pants the rest of the way off. “Who I love doesn’t have to be a secret; as long as we keep the details to ourselves, something just for us.”<br/>
<br/>
Shayne wanted to say something very loving and profound in return, but Damien was leaving a trail of kisses down his stomach, so grand statements would have to wait. <br/>
Probably about 10 minutes. It had been a long few days without each other.<br/>
They both had to work in the morning, but the rest of the day was just for them.<em><em><br/>
<br/>
</em></em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>//</p><p><br/>
With Damien back in the office, energized from his vacation, writing sessions flew by. It felt like no time had passed when it was once again time for a shoot week. Sunday afternoon, Shayne was preparing for the first sketch on Monday’s schedule.</p><p>“I can’t believe you’re shaving your chest again; I feel like I’m dating a water polo player.”<br/>
<br/>
“Not a swimmer?” Shayne asked, flexing his arms. He dodged the pillow Damien threw at him and grinned, running a hand over his own chest. “I can’t believe you have such strong feelings about it.”<br/>
<br/>
”What can I say? I like your chest hair. I always miss it when you shave it off.”<br/>
<br/>
“I only shave it when I play Courtney Freaking Miller. I have to be in character, and I really feel like they’re the kind of gal who shaves their chest hair.”<br/>
 <br/>
“Yet also the kind of gal who has several days worth of beard growth.”<br/>
<br/>
“They’re a multilayered being. You don’t like my stubble?”<br/>
<br/>
“I love your stubble.”<br/>
<br/>
Shayne smirked, gave Damien a quick kiss, and disappeared into the bathroom, leaving the door slightly ajar. While Damien scrolled Instagram, he could hear the faucet being turned on and off intermittently, and he could see movements through the narrow door opening. When he eventually saw Shayne grab a towel to dry off, he sighed, putting his phone down.<br/>
<br/>
He felt selfish, telling Shayne he preferred him with hair on his chest. He would never in a million years dream of telling a female partner how to maintain their body hair; so why did he think it was okay, just because Shayne was a guy? He wished he had kept his mouth shut; but he decided the next best thing was to apologize.<br/>
<br/>
Shayne exited the bathroom with a towel tied around his chest. Damien momentarily forgot his apology plan and giggled at the sight. <br/>
<br/>
“You look like a fancy spa lady.”<br/>
<br/>
“I <em>am</em> a fancy spa lady.”<br/>
<br/>
Shayne walked over to the couch, placing both his hands lightly on Damien’s arms so he wouldn’t get up. He slipped his hands through the stretched neck hole of Damien’s shirt and started gently rubbing his shoulders. Damien’s eyes slipped shut and he hummed blissfully. Shayne gave great massages, and Damien could probably have dozed off if they’d stayed quiet much longer. After a few minutes, Shayne spoke in a low voice.<br/>
<br/>
“I did something for you.”<br/>
<br/>
“Hmm?” Damien blinked a few times, looking up. Shayne looked down at his towel; Damien got the hint and reached up to give the terrycloth a light tug. The towel fell, revealing Shayne’s smooth chest… and a spared trail of hair from his belly button into his pants.<br/>
Damien smirked up at him.<br/>
<br/>
“You left me a little something.”<br/>
<br/>
“A trail that makes you happy.”<br/>
<br/>
“You’re a big dumb dork.”<br/>
<br/>
“Hurtful,” Shayne said, letting one of his hands travel from Damien’s shoulder to his hair, where he grasped a handful and gently tugged. Damien sighed happily, a tingle of pleasure running down his spine. His smirk turned into a soft smile; he knew what Shayne wanted and he was happy to oblige.<br/>
<br/>
He got on his knees on the floor and started pressing kisses to Shayne’s stomach, slowly getting sloppier as he pulled down Shayne’s sweatpants and underwear. He made sure to pay extra attention to the trail of hair Shayne had left unshaven, nosing at it to show his appreciation. A blowjob was probably as good as an apology, but…<br/>
Damien had one hand around Shayne’s cock, stroking him slowly, when he gave into his nagging conscience and looked up.<br/>
<br/>
“Shayne, I’m sorry I said I preferred you with chest hair. I don’t know why I said anything; obviously that’s entirely your choice.”<br/>
<br/>
Shayne just stared at him, cheeks flushed and pupils blown. His neck and chest were slightly red, as they always were when he made any physical effort. He looked both debauched and on the verge of laughter.<br/>
<br/>
“Damien, you have my dick in your hand, are you actually taking this moment to apologize?”<br/>
<br/>
“Well..”<br/>
<br/>
“Of course you are. God, I love you so much.”<br/>
<br/>
Shayne held Damien’s wrist to keep his hand from moving, so he could focus on making words instead of moans. He placed his other hand on Damien’s cheek.<br/>
<br/>
“Dames, I’m not mad that you said you liked my chest hair. I’m glad you like it; sometimes I like to shave it, but mostly I don’t. Your opinion matters to me. You didn’t overstep. Please blow me.”<br/>
<br/>
Damien chuckled, trying not to show how relieved he was. Shayne let go of his wrist, allowing him to continue stroking slowly. Damien placed his other hand on the back of Shayne’s thigh and slowly took him into his mouth.<br/>
Shayne let out shaky breath and his hand found its way back into Damien’s hair, gently holding on. Damien could tell that he was trying not to pull too hard; especially when Damien took him in deeper, tongue pressing up against the hardness. Damien placed a hand on top of Shayne’s in his hair, pushing it down a little as he moaned encouragingly.<br/>
<br/>
Shayne got the hint and pulled Damien’s hair a little harder, rewarded by Damien’s following groans vibrating through him. It wasn’t in Shayne’s nature to hurt anyone; not even mildly, even if they wanted it and specifically asked for it. But once in a while, Damien liked to be hurt a little; and thankfully, there was an override to Shayne’s unwillingness to cause pain:<br/>
He wanted to make Damien feel good, and if being a little rough is what it took, then alright.<br/>
<br/>
It was a relief too, having something to hold onto as Damien worked him over. He’d had plenty of practice since their first hook-up; at this point he could play Shayne like an instrument. With every few bops of his head, he would take Shayne slightly down his throat for a second, pulling back before he choked, and Shayne couldn’t take much of that.<br/>
<br/>
His hand in Damien’s hair was an illusion of control; Damien owned him completely. He felt his pleasure rising impossibly, tapping Damien’s shoulder like a gentleman; but as had become his way, Damien ignored him.<br/>
Shayne cursed, letting out a deep groan as he came in Damien’s mouth. His thumb was at Damien’s throat, and he felt him swallow, making his hips stutter again.<br/>
Damien sucked on the head once more before letting him go, and Shayne’s knees wobbled slightly as he tucked himself away. Damien groaned, running a hand over the front of his pants. Shayne came to his senses. <br/>
<br/>
“Did you..?”<br/>
<br/>
“Almost,” Damien said hoarsely, sending shivers up Shayne’s spine. Hearing Damien’s voice, rough from what he’d just done, was almost as hot as the act itself.<br/>
<br/>
As Damien was making no move to get off the floor, Shayne sunk to his knees and joined him instead. He quickly pushed down Damien’s sweatpants and briefs, just enough to give him the access he needed.<br/>
He jerked Damien off with a firm grip, putting his other hand back in Damien’s hair. He pulled his head slightly to the side to bare his neck, knowing exactly where to focus his attention. Pulling Damien’s hair a little harder, Shayne pressed a sloppy kiss to that magical spot on his neck, and the reaction was instant. <br/>
<br/>
“Shayne,” Damien gasped, as he trembled and came all over Shayne’s thigh and still-moving hand. Shayne kissed him as he slowed down his movements, stopping only when Damien gave a slight twitch of pain.<br/>
<br/>
Momentarily drained of energy, they laid down on the living room rug, quiet in the afterglow. Shayne’s left leg was bathed in sunlight from one of the windows, and he seriously contemplated shuffling over to let it warm more of his body.<br/>
Instead his ran his fingers through the slightly raised fibers of the rug. He tried not to smile.<br/>
<br/>
“Pretty good rug, huh?”<br/>
<br/>
“Oh my god,” Damien groaned, but couldn’t suppress a chuckle. “Yes, Shayne, I like the rug; you were right.”<br/>
<br/>
They’d argued about that rug. Not an actual fight, just a disagreement, but they’d both been a little on edge from it. It was the first argument they’d had since moving in together as couple, and it felt much more serious than it was.<br/>
Damien thought the rug was too fibrous and would be a nightmare to clean; Shayne felt that it tied the room together. Eventually Shayne had gotten his way with some very persuasive kissing, and in a way he felt grateful for the argument. If their biggest issue was a single piece of home decor, they were doing well.<br/>
<br/>
They hadn’t discussed the rug since. Not until that very moment. Shayne looked incredibly smug.<br/>
“It’s nice to know that my design aesthetic is being appreciated.”<br/>
<br/>
“My knees appreciated it, that’s for sure.”<br/>
<br/>
Shayne chuckled and stretched lazily, wiggling the foot that was in the sunlight. He reached over and stroked the bare skin of Damien’s stomach where his t-shirt was riding up, watching his boyfriend with soft eyes.<br/>
<br/>
“You know, back at So Random! I thought about us living together a lot. Like, when we were working and goofing around, I thought, how great would that be? The two of us under one roof.”<br/>
<br/>
“And then we did live together for a while, imagine that. But we were in separate buildings, probably not what you pictured.”<br/>
<br/>
“No, I pictured it more like this.”<br/>
<br/>
Damien rolled onto his side, facing him. He smirked slightly as he snaked a hand over Shayne’s thigh. <br/>
“Did you imagine this part, too?”<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah, but that was more of a nighttime thought.”<br/>
<br/>
“Babe,” Damien giggled, scandalized.<br/>
<br/>
“What? I’m not allowed to think about you when I jerk off? How about you stop being hot, then.”<br/>
<br/>
Damien rolled onto his back, laughing. Then he seemed to realize something and propped himself up again.<br/>
“Wait, present tense? You still think about me when you..?”<br/>
<br/>
 “Yeah,” Shayne said with a shrug.<br/>
<br/>
“You mean, when I was in Georgia?”<br/>
<br/>
“Yes, and.. other times.”<br/>
<br/>
“<em>When?</em>” Damien said, incredulous. “We’re together all the time! Do you do it when I’m in the next room? Why not just knock?”<br/>
<br/>
“Why not just knock and, what, ask you to do me?”<br/>
<br/>
“Well..”<br/>
<br/>
“Okay,” Shayne said, chewing on his lower lip. “Now that I know that’s an option, you should expect a drop in productivity.”<br/>
<br/>
Damien scoffed, rolling his eyes. Shayne continued, “But, no, I don’t jerk off when you’re in the next room; but like, when I’m working from home, and you’re at the office.”<br/>
<br/>
“Good lord, Shayne.”<br/>
<br/>
“Those are some long days.”<br/>
<br/>
Damien chuckled, scrubbing his hands over his face as he sat up. Getting off the floor, he offered Shayne a hand, pulling him to his feet. They embraced, kissing languidly for a moment before Damien pulled away, slapping Shayne on the ass.<br/>
<br/>
“Let’s get you out of those pants.”<br/>
<br/>
“Alright, but this time we’re doing it on the bed.”<br/>
<br/>
“I meant so I can wash them, you animal; there’s jizz on your thigh.”<br/>
<br/>
“Damn it…”<br/>
<br/>
“If that dries, they’re gonna be impossible to clean. Just like the rug.”<br/>
<br/>
“The rug stays.”<br/>
<br/>
"We'll see."<em><em><em><em><br/>
<br/>
</em></em></em></em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>//</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Friend Bounce</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Shayne and Damien talk to their families.<br/>Later, Shayne is bored, and that might be to Damien's benefit.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It wasn’t a conscious decision, waiting months before they told their families they were together.<br/>
There might have been a <em>sub</em>conscious fear of telling everyone, only for the relationship to fall apart; but neither of them really believed that would happen. At least not after they moved in together.</p><p>They had mostly held off from telling their families, because they kept forgetting.<br/>
They both worked a lot; Shayne splitting his time between Smosh and Goldbergs; Damien getting more voice work while maintaining his Smosh Games schedule.<br/>
<br/>
So every few weeks, one of them would look up from whatever they were doing, eyes wide with panic, and say, “We <em>have</em> to call my parents this weekend.”<br/>
When they finally did it, it was as painless as expected. First up were Shayne’s parents who were thrilled.</p><p>“Damien’s such a wonderful boy,” Shayne’s mother said, her voice full of emotion. “I couldn’t make up someone better for you. Damien, you tell your mom that we’d love to see you all here at Christmas.”</p><p>They promised Shayne’s parents that they would try to make Christmas work; Shayne promised to call his brothers; and they rang off, dialing up Damien’s mother while they had the momentum. She was with his sister, Brittany, which threw Damien off for a moment; but he took a deep breath and carried on.</p><p>“Mom, Britt, I just wanted to tell you guys that, uh,” he trailed off, but Shayne – sitting off screen – took his hand, encouraging him to go on. “When Shayne and I moved back in together recently, it wasn’t to be roommates again.”</p><p>The two women looked at each other, smiling, then returned their attention back to Damien.<br/>
“We had a feeling, sweets,” Damien’s mother said. “Brittany looked your new place up on some real estate site-“</p><p>“Zillow,” Brittany interjected.</p><p>“Zillow, that’s right, and it said it was a two-bedroom.”</p><p>Damien discretely kicked Shayne who had his head buried in a throw pillow, shaking with silenced laugher. Damien's mom, hearing nothing, was still speaking.</p><p>“So, I thought, a two-bedroom, that either means someone is sleeping on the couch; or that they won’t have a living room. Or, well..”</p><p>She shrugged her shoulders, smiling innocently. Brittany laughed. Damien couldn’t help but smile, too, even as he felt his cheeks getting red.</p><p>“So, you already knew,” he said, feeling more guilty than embarrassed. His mother sounded entirely unbothered.</p><p>“I’ve wondered sometimes, since you were a kid, really. I figured if there was something to know, you’d let me know, on your own time.”</p><p>“Mom, I really barely knew until Shayne.”</p><p>She shook his head, beaming at him, wordlessly assuring him that there was no need to explain or apologize. “Is Shayne there,” she asked and Damien nodded, not trusting his voice not to crack if he spoke.<br/>
Shayne cartoonishly stuck his head into frame.</p><p>“Hi, Haas family!”</p><p>They four of them spoke for a while; mainly about the neighborhood Shayne and Damien had moved into. Shayne floated the idea of Christmas in Arizona, a suggestion they seemed very positive towards. When the call ended, Damien put his phone down and pulled Shayne in for a kiss. When they parted, Shayne looked a little dazed.</p><p>“What was that for?”</p><p>Damien kissed him again and took his hand.<br/>
“My life is infinitely better than I could have ever predicted.”</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Days later, seemingly out of nowhere, Shayne’s brother, Chris, gave him a call.<br/>
“So, Mom told me that you and Damien are boning each other.”</p><p>Shayne almost choked on the coffee he’d been sipping. “.. She did not say that.”</p><p>“Of course not, calm down. Brian joked that you might be dating each other, since you’re living together <em>again;</em> and you know Mom has the worst poker face.”</p><p>“Damn it. Chris, I wish I’d told you myself, I don’t know why I never..”</p><p>“Yeah, Shayne,” his brother said, trying to fake anger. “I was so shocked when I found out that you were in a relationship with your best friend whom you’ve had a crush on for years.”</p><p>Shayne started turning red, sputtering, “I meant, I should have told you that I was.. you know?”</p><p>“Into guys?” Chris supplied, helpfully. “Kind of figured that one out when you started locking your door every time that guy from your acting class came over.”</p><p>“Oh my god..”</p><p>“Yeah, you’re not slick, Shayne. But I love you. Brian says to tell you he loves you too. Come home soon, okay?”</p><p>“I love you, too.”</p><p> </p><p>//</p><p> </p><p>As the season changed, TV-shows started going on production hiatus; meaning that Shayne was off from Goldbergs, and Damien was doing less voice work for animated shows.<br/>
This freed up time for them to spend together, but brought on a challenge of its own.</p><p>One of the most dangerous things that could happen in the Haas-Topp household was a bored Shayne. While Damien could spend hours on his own, perfectly content, Shayne was far more extroverted. When he’d been living on his own, he’d gotten used to having only his own company most of the time he was home.<br/>
Now that he lived with his best friend and boyfriend - usually hanging out within his reach – Shayne knew he was borderline intolerable at times.</p><p>On a lazy Saturday like many others, Damien had announced that he had no intention of leaving home until they had to go to work Monday morning. He had comics to read, as well as a brand new video game to play; early release – his favorite Smosh Games perk. It was a single player game, unfortunately, but Shayne would just play it at a later time.</p><p>Shayne hadn’t made plans for the weekend either, thinking he would need some time to relax after a grueling work week; but now, just a few waking hours into Saturday, he had regrets.<br/>
His attempts at making last minute plans with other people had failed, and he really didn’t want to bother Damien.</p><p>He decided to go the gym for a couple of hours, and when he came home, he took a shower and responded to some e-mails. That was almost three hours of leaving Damien alone – except for a kiss hello when he returned from the gym; he was only human.<br/>
Pleased with himself, he started going through the kitchen, hunting for snacks; and he ravenously started taking down a bag of Bugles.</p><p>He watched Damien through the serving hatch between kitchen and living room, as he rummaged. Damien didn’t seem to notice the way Shayne opened and closed the cabinets; the crinkling of the bag; or his loud crunching. He really did have an amazing ability to exist in his own bubble of solitude.<br/>
Shayne crunched even louder, feeling like a brat, but he still got no reaction.</p><p>Slightly disappointed, he started taking Bugles out of the bag, putting them on his fingers like he used to do when he was a kid. He inspected his chip nails with a satisfied smirk and walked back into the living room, waggling his fingers.</p><p>“Remember when Courtney made us put on fake nails, and we said the first test would be hand jobs?”</p><p>Damien looked up from his comic with a horrified expression. “Absolutely not.”</p><p>“You don’t remember?” Shayne asked innocently, trying to hide a smug grin.</p><p>“Oh, I remember, and absolutely not; you are not touching me with those on your fingers.”</p><p>Shayne ate a chip off his pinkie, shrugging.<br/>
“You know, usually when there’s something one of us wants to try in bed, we at least have a conversation about it.”</p><p>Damien chuckled. This time he didn’t look up from his comic. Shayne ate the rest of the Bugles on his fingers, but didn’t let the subject drop. He knew he should let Damien read in peace, give him some quiet time; but he was bored and wanted attention.</p><p>“We don’t kink shame in this house.”</p><p>“Riiiight,” Damien said, only half-listening.</p><p>“You could let me have the Bugle-thing. I don’t shame you for your neck thing.”</p><p>“I’ve let you do weirder stuff than a Bugle-hand job,” he mumbled, then suddenly looked up, frowning. “Wait, <em>what</em> neck thing?”</p><p>“Your.. neck thing,” Shayne repeated, now equally confused. “You know, you have that spot on your neck that makes fireworks happen.”</p><p>“I think you’re just saying words now,” Damien said, returning to his comic. Shayne was so perplexed that he dropped the subject. He let Damien focus on reading, and grabbed a book of his own. Settling down on the couch, he attempted to absorb the words on the pages in front of him, but he was lost in thought.</p><p>He wondered if it was actually possible that Damien didn’t realize how he reacted to that specific spot in the heat of the moment. To be fair, it was mostly a trick Shayne pulled out at the 11<sup>th</sup> hour; an ace up his sleeve to push Damien off the edge. Maybe Damien was actually too lost in those moments to realize the effect it had on him.</p><p>Or  – shock, horror – Shayne had exaggerated the magic in his mind. Maybe it wasn’t that wild; maybe Damien had an averagely sensitive neck, and it was all about timing. The idea of that actually made him a little sad. Of course, Damien had plenty of sensitive spots; Shayne discovered new ones all the time. If the neck thing wasn’t really a thing at all, then okay; but he wanted to know.</p><p>Eyeing Damien over the edge of his book, he concocted an evil plan. A sexy evil plan.</p><p> </p><p>Damien kept reading his comic for a while, until he was interrupted by a call from his agent, asking if he could record a last minute voiceover audition. By the time he returned from recording, Shayne was almost done making dinner. Damien set the table, feeling slightly bad about having spent several hours working on their day off.</p><p>“Don’t be sorry,” Shayne insisted as they ate. “That voiceover job sounds really cool; and we have tonight and all day tomorrow to spend time together.”</p><p>“Except- I mean, I was gonna play that game tonight. But I won’t, we should do something together.”</p><p>“No, of course you should play. I have a Goldbergs script to read anyway. We’ll do something tomorrow.”</p><p>Damien seemed to hesitate, but then he agreed, thanking Shayne for giving him the time. After dinner, Damien settled down with his game, and Shayne went to Damien’s recording room with his script. He liked to borrow the soundproof room whenever he had new lines to go over, so he could read out loud without feeling too self-conscious.<br/>
Over the next couple of hours, he read the script; practiced his lines a few times; and facetimed Sam to get his thoughts on an upcoming plotline.</p><p>Satisfied that he’d given Damien a few hours of quality alone time, he quietly snuck from the recording room to the bedroom and changed into sweats. He never used to be a sweatpants kind of guy, but Damien had really converted him; they were easier to get out of than pants with buttons and zippers, after all.</p><p>He paired his sweatpants with a tank top that usually stayed buried in the back of his closet. He’d originally bought it to work out in; but it was a little too tight and showed a little too much skin, and he’d only worn it to the gym once before retiring it. For his sexy evil plan, though, it was perfect.</p><p>Entering the living room, he squeezed Damien’s shoulder as he walked passed him. Damien glanced at him as he took a seat on the lounge chair rather than the couch, and he huffed out a small breath.</p><p>“Nice shirt,” he remarked with a hint of nervous laughter in his voice, looking back at the screen.</p><p>“It’s my slutty shirt.”</p><p>Damien didn’t look at him, nor did he say anything, but even with his eyes firmly locked on the game, there was the briefest glimpse of anticipation on his face; revealing that he had a hunch that something was gonna go down. The slight shift of his hips was almost imperceptive, but Shayne knew his body language too well.</p><p>Knowing that Damien was affected simply by the sight of Shayne in that shirt; and by the vague implication of his words; made Shayne feel hot all over. He was tempted to throw the whole plan out the window to jump Damien right then and there; but he held back, wanting to see it through.</p><p>He waited just long enough for Damien to be absorbed in the game play again, then got up from the chair and took a seat next to him on the couch instead. Damien quickly glanced at him, but Shayne looked at the screen.</p><p>“It looks really good,” he said, spreading his legs a little as if he was just getting comfortable. He purposely left the smallest space between his knee and Damien’s. Damien nodded, not saying anything, but Shayne could tell his focus on the game was already slightly lessened. On the screen, his character walked into a crate on the ground several times before realizing he had to go around it.</p><p>Shayne waited a few minutes more, letting Damien refocus once again; and then he touched their knees together. He felt Damien’s reaction rather than seeing it, the slightest shiver passing through him. Damien pushed back with his knee, barely any pressure; but it was all the permission Shayne needed to go on.</p><p>He moved even closer, placing a kiss on Damien’s shoulder, feeling the warmth of his skin through the fabric, taking in his familiar scent. He saw Damien’s throat bob as he swallowed hard, fingers slipping over wrong buttons on the controller. Finally Shayne moved in on his primary target, touching his nose to Damien’s neck as he murmured, “Keep playing.”</p><p>There was a barely audible plastic-y click as Damien squeezed the controller a little too hard. Shayne breathed out a small laugh against his neck; and when he pressed his lips to the sensitive skin, he felt Damien getting goose bumps.<br/>
As much as he wanted to put his hands on Damien, he thought the best way to drive home his point was to finally do something he’d wanted to try for ages; he would attempt to get Damien off on this alone, without even getting him out of his clothes.</p><p>He had a good feeling about his chances, because while the soft presses of his lips made Damien shiver, the reaction was much stronger when he brought his tongue into play. The kisses he gave Damien’s neck got sloppier, and Damien couldn’t suppress a slight groan. He was still holding the controller, hands tight around it, but he was barely playing the game.</p><p>Shayne’s focus was on Damien’s breathing, his moans, and the rushing sound in his own ears from growing arousal; but he still clocked the occasional game dialogue of <em>“Hm. I need a key for this door”</em>, when Damien’s tried to open the same locked door for the millionth time.</p><p>Shayne huffed, amused and flattered, taking things further. He rested his hand on Damien’s thigh – feather light, right above the knee – and grazed his teeth over Damien’s already sensitive skin. Damien let out a choked moan before he could stop himself, and Damien felt his thigh muscle flex under his hand.</p><p>He moved his hand to Damien’s inner thigh, still just resting it, and flicked his tongue over the spot on Damien’s neck before blowing across it. Damien moaned again, rolling his pelvis.</p><p>“Shayne,” he whispered tensely; it sounded like begging.</p><p>
  <em>“Hm. I need a key for this door.”</em>
</p><p>Shayne delivered more sloppy kisses, moving his hand dangerously further up Damien’s thigh; and when Damien’s pelvis rolled upwards again, Shayne squeezed. He used his other hand to shoved Damien back against the couch pillow and sunk his teeth harder into the soft flesh of his neck.</p><p>
  <em>“Hm. I need a key for this door.”<br/>
“Hm. I need a-“<br/>
“Hm. I-“</em>
</p><p>“Fuck, I’m-“ Damien gasped. “Oh-hng!”</p><p>
  <em>“Hm-”</em><br/>
<em>“Hm-“<br/>
“Hm-“</em>
</p><p>Letting go of the controller with one hand, Damien grabbed hold of Shayne’s leg instead. Moans now spilling unrestrained, Damien came with a final whimper of Shayne’s name, thrusting up against nothing. As the thrusts seemed to taper off, until his legs just slightly shook, Shayne turned his bite into gentle kisses, running his hand soothingly up and down Damien’s thigh. The sound of Damien’s choppy breathing might as well have been classical music for how it pleased Shayne’s ears. He pressed his nose into the crook of Damien’s neck and breathed in deeply, breathing out a pleased sigh.</p><p>Damien chuckled, turning his head for a kiss. Their mouths moved slowly, softly, against each other; and Shayne felt a pleasant burning on his lips, a slight ache in his jaw, from his efforts. Pulling back a little, Damien pushed Shayne’s hair back, holding onto it for a moment as his gaze flicked across his face.</p><p>“You’re a menace,” he said, locking their eyes. His voice was gravelly, but there was nothing but love in his cadence.</p><p>Out the corner of their eyes, they both saw something pop up on the screen and turned towards it. It was a dialogue box.</p><p><em>“It’s not safe to stay in one place for too long,”</em> the character warned. <em>“I should keep it moving.”</em></p><p>Damien picked up the controller, which had fallen to the floor at some point, and saved his game. He got up, legs still a little wobbly, and turned off the console and TV. He glanced down at the wet spot on the front of his sweatpants, then back at Shayne.</p><p>“Nice work.”</p><p>Shayne smirked, looking way too proud of himself. Damien offered him a hand and pulled him up to stand. Damien leaned in for another kiss, pressing his thigh against Shayne’s crotch, making him moan against his lips.</p><p>“Let’s get in the shower; I think it’s payback time.”</p><p>“Yeah? Do you think I have any magic spots, too?”</p><p>“I know for sure that you have at least one,” Damien said, pulling Shayne towards the bathroom. “I can usually find it with two fingers, and-“</p><p>Shayne punched him in the chest, then surrendered to more kisses. They had a long night ahead of them.<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
//</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The alternate title for this chapter was 'My controller smells!', but the implications were honestly disgusting, so you're welcome for me telling you anyway.</p><p>Also, I don’t know much about the Haas or Topp families’ personalities, so I simply made them loving and open-minded, as family should be.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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